What Made the Hobby a Gambling Machine? + SPA Grading Update + When the Hobby Gives Back

This week on Sports Cards Live, we kick things off with Carter Yelle of the Saskatchewan Sports Card & Collector Experience as the show prepares for its second year next weekend. Jeremy will be set up at the show, and we’ll talk with Carter about what it’s like for a show promoter to deliver that all-important encore performance. What do you learn from year one, what do you change, and how can a second show become the opportunity to elevate the experience for collectors, attendees and vendors alike? We’re also rolling out a brand-new feature on Sports Cards Live: guest co-hosts. Joining us as our very first guest co-host is Graig Miller of Midlife Cards, who will sit in with Jeremy, David Chase and Joshua Adams as we dig into another week in the hobby. Our featured guest is Phil Chronakis of Sealed Wax Nation, who is embarking on his 2026 Keep It Sealed American Tour, using the hobby to connect with communities and help people and children in need. Phil is also a passionate sealed wax collector, so we’ll get into what he collects, why he keeps it sealed, and what makes unopened material such a unique corner of the hobby. Then the conversation gets bigger. We’ll dig into monopolies and consolidation in the hobby, the state of the grading companies, the relationship between sports cards and gambling, and one key moment in history that helped gambling become so deeply embedded not only in the hobby, but in sports culture itself. And yes... SPA GRADING IS BACK. We’ll have an update from the grading company nobody asked for, but apparently we’re getting anyway. All that and plenty more on another live edition of Sports Cards Live. Subscribe to Sports Cards Live and join us live in the chat. Take the Hobby Spectrum Assessment and discover what kind of hobbyist you are at thehobbyspectrum.com. Check out Pops & Comps on Amazon. ------------------------------------------------------------- Please show some love to SCL sponsors and partners: If you'd like to consign your cards with Slab Sharks, reach out to me at [email protected] and I will help you out and be your rep! Sign up with my link here: https://app.slabsharks.com/sign-up/wq... If you've discovered a vintage collection and need help with valuation and selling, reach out to Leighton Sheldon at Just Collect. Visit https://justcollect.com. Sign up for Card Ladder, please consider using the SCL affiliate link: https://app.cardladder.com/signup?via... Use code SCL to get 60 free days of auctionwire.ai! If you've got a card you keep not shipping because you can't stomach it — that's what GrailGuard is for. A background-checked courier picks it up in person and carries it door to door, and you watch them on a map GPS tracked the whole way. grailguard.io Mintink offers in person shopping 7 days a week at two Toronto Locations or shop online use promo code SCL5 for 5% off your 1st order @ https://www.mintink.ca/?utm_source=sp... (Worldwide shipping) Check out REA Auctions tri-annual Catalog Auctions and Monthlies and select Sports Cards Live as how you heard about them. https://collectrea.com/ Find out if the biggest card show brand is coming to a city near you! Visit www.frontrowcardshow.com! Mr. Minty offers a full line of substance-free pre-grading supplies, grade prep & evaluation services, and concierge drop-off and pick up PSA submissions. All designed to help collectors save time and money in the expensive grading process. For More go to MrMinty.com, save 25% of products using promo code SCL25. Happy Collecting and keep it Minty! Visit collectorinvestorauctions.com to register to bid in the monthly auctions! If you have an idea to grow the hobby and you need software engineers who understand the space, check out Inferno Red Technology, the enghineers behind some of the hobby's biggest business services. https://infernored.com/ For cards from the 90's or cards of players who played in the 90's, check out https://90sauctions.com for a niche auction house that provides personalized customer service.